Company's Coming

Shannon (aka Doodlebug) and Kristina (Froggy Bottom Quilting) are coming to visit.  They'll be here on Thursday and I'm so excited.  Imagine, the fun we'll have and the things we'll learn and the great time that will be had by all.

Of course, with company coming, it means I have to clean my house...YIKES!  Its been awhile since I've actually, truly cleaned.  Do you have any idea how much dirt seeps through the cushions onto the outside cover of the sleeper in the sofa?  Let alone the dog hair that gathers under the sofa, just waiting for you to move it with company here.

I"ll leave you with this photo of the section of my house that is now relatively clean.  I say relatively, because my floors will never be clean, shiny and dust free.  I live on a dirt road with two dogs and a husband in and out constantly...shiny floors are not in my foreseeable future!

Maple Leaf Quilt

I loved working on this quilt!  Janice did an excellent job piecing and the colors were so bright and pretty.  I squiggle-outlined the leaves and added some stems and cc'd the squares using Rainbows Brass Band.  Then I just stippled/meandered the background with King Tut Sands of Time to make the leaves and squares stand out.  A little curvy design in the sashing to match the curvy design in the stems, a meander in the border and it was done! 

More detailed photos...to see them with even more detail, you can click on the photo. (just click "back" to return to this page.)

And a shot of the back.  The truer color of the backing is on the outside edges; it was a lovely green print.  (The lighting in the yurt makes taking photos of the back challenging.)

Next up, a quilt I'm making for my sister's 60th birthday celebration...

Happy 6th of July

Yes, I know its supposed to be Happy 4th, but as usual, I'm  a day two days late and  a dollar short.  When we're home, we head over to Taylorsville to enjoy the 4th of July festivities. 

As the sign indicates, Taylorsville is a very small town.  However, on the 4th of July weekend, population swells to almost 1,000.  The three days prior to the 4th, the campground is full of rigs and horses for the annual team roping. On the 4th, everything gets started with the annual pancake breakfast...

...and then the parade begins!

This wagon was carrying the grand marshall, all well and good, but look at these horses!

Aren't they beautiful? They are red roan Belgians!!

Then we have the prerequisite fire trucks...

A loader (hey, it's a really small town, what can I say?)

And this beautiful orange truck that belongs to a friend of mine.  His name is...wait for it...Bob Orange!

I don't know what this little guy was supposed to be, but he took his job very seriously!!

And finally an entry with some horses.  These girls were the queen contestants for the rodeo, later in the day.

This is the line of team-ropers trying to leave town (there's only one-way in/out). Half the fun for us is looking at the various trailers and rigs as they leave.  I think the one pictured below was the biggest one there. Its a four-horse slant-load with a full living quarters. It probably cost as much as my house!!

These were just two of the bulls waiting for the rodeo to start.  Tell me, what in the world would ever make you want to get on one of these guys knowing his full intent is to get rid of you??  I love watching bull riding, but I think those cowboys are crazy!!

And, finally, there's always someone who takes the 4th of July wardrobe a tad too far. *shrug*  He wasn't even in the parade...

Beautiful Celtic Quilt

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Okay, so you'll just have to trust me, inspite of my [lack of] photography skills!  This is a Celtic design that Pat did.  Pat is a new customer and she trusted me with this quilt--a quilt she plans to enter in many fairs! No pressure...right??????  I used two batts with this one: Hobbs 80/20 and QD Wool, to give it definition. I called her today after finishing all the interior stippling on the design to get her input.  I was either going to leave the colored areas alone, or quilt pebbles in them as my friend, Shannon, had suggested.  She opted for less quilting.

I delivered the quilt this afternoon, sweating bullets on my drive to her home.  What if she didn't like it??  Luckily, she loved it and has promised to tell the ladies in her quilting group about me and show it to them.  Their previous longarm quilter has moved away, so I may be getting even more new customers! *whoopee!*

A few more pictures...(the color to the right is more true)

And a couple of the back.  I always love the back of my work, often the best.  (What, exactly, do you think that means??)

 

 

Remember, if you want to see the picture in more detail, you can click on it.  Thanks for looking!

Vacation...aka Kate's Initiation

We left for Washington on Tuesday, the 15th at 8:30 a.m.--a mere 3 hours later than we'd planned.  We drove up through the back roads, going very close to the town where I went to high school. I was hoping someone else would pull in for fuel while we were there that I knew, but no one did.  I did, however, wave to a classmate's parents as we drove past Roberts Reservoir on our way toward Tulelake; not that they had any clue. *shrug*

Between the road construction and stopping to give the horses a rest, we didn't get to WA until just before dark.  As we drove along Highway 14 headed for White Salmon and the turn off to Trout Lake, I noticed some really hairy cows along the highway.  A closer look revealed that they weren't cows at all!  We took the wrong road out of White Salmon and ended up going up a steep grade through town with sharp curves in the dark in a really huge rig; it was a bit nerve wracking.  We finally arrived at the campground around 10 p.m.

We just pulled off the main road, flipped out the high ties, got food and water and blankets for the horses, and fell into bed.  Poor Kate...a 12 hour trailer ride and then left to hang on the side of the trailer with Bailey, whom she immediately kicked. I think she was letting us know her initial opinion of the situation.

The next day we moved camp, got set up, and drove to Portland to get the etched wineglasses commemorating the ride. Thursday the fun started.  We took Kate and Bailey out for one of the 12 mile loops that the Ride & Tiers would be doing on Saturday.  The trail at the Trout Lake Horse Camp is phenomenal: mostly single track with excellent footing, rolling hills and gorgeous views of Mt. Adams.  A little over halfway though the ride, Kate stopped.  Apparently, she just wasn't seeing the point of the whole thing.  After a little attitude adjustment (read: 'finding a stick to use as a crop'), she decided that continuing on was better than being tapped on the butt constantly.

Our camping spot...(told you it was beautiful!)

Friday, Dennis was talked into actually competing in the event.  Our original plan had been to help with the ride while riding our horses all week long.  Instead, Dennis participated--36 miles of running and riding! Below is proof: Their finish picture with the official time clock (which almost every horse spooked at).  They weren't even last, but that might have had something to do with the fact that the last team lost their horse twice (once he managed to untie himself and went to their nearby home!).

Instead of Kate going out every day and getting used to being ridden constantly, she learned what it was like to be left at the trailer while her buddy horse leaves.  She was not happy and let the whole camp know.  During the event, every time Bailey would come in for a vet check, I had to go get Kate to stand by so that his heart rate would be at criteria.  The vets became accustomed to seeing us hanging around.

Sunday we did manage another ride out, only 5 miles this time on a different trail.  Kate was really doing great, until her giant spook on the way back into camp.  Luckily, she calmed down almost immediately and I managed to stay on--always better than the alternative.

Monday morning we headed for home.  We got out of bed to find that Kate had chewed through her lead rope and was standing next to Bailey grazing.  Apparently, she'd run out of hay and needed something to do!  I know horses eat trees and fences...but lead ropes.  I thought only dogs chewed through their leashes!!

It was lovely to be away from home and camping with our horses and friends.  We had such a great time.  Below are some pictures...enjoy.

Mt. Adams (with SNOW in JUNE!)

Just some scenery...

Can you tell which dog loves horses and which dog was bored???

Another shot of Chloe enjoying her favorite pasttime! (Isn't she pretty?  She had a bath for the trip) She was at the finish line with me waiting for her horse.  Then she jumped all around him, biting his tail, on the way to the trailer, much to everyone's amusement.

And a final shot of George, Dennis' partner, and Bailey coming into the vet check.